Attack of the Maul
by Red Witch
Summary: Another monster is on the rampage and the Galaxy Rangers have to stop it. But what connection does this creature have with Goose? And what's with Gravestone and the chicken?


**Giant monsters ate the disclaimer saying that I don't own any Galaxy Ranger Characters! Another fun mad fic that came into my crazy head! **

**Attack of the Maul**

"Bleach!" MaCross, leader of the Black Hole Gang nearly gagged even though he was wearing a contaminations suit. "Those humans sure named this place right when they call it the Wasteland." He lifted up his boot to find some strange purple, green and black slime on it. "I knew humans were disgusting but I had no idea how disgusting they could be!"

"Boss aren't we taking a risk being in human space this long?" Dawdle, the one eyed jackal like alien gulped.

"You moron, no human in his right mind would be within a thousand parsecs **near **this place!" Chugga, the orange and brown lizard alien snapped.

"Then what are **we** doing here?" Dawdle gulped as some purple sludge oozed up from the ground. "Ewwwww…"

"Blame Patch!" Chugga indicated the one eyed bearded human member of the gang. "It was his idea."

"And a good one," Patch growled. "When I was in the army I heard all sorts of stories about this place. How it was a dumping ground for Earth's unwanted weapons."

"What kind of weapons?" Dawdle asked.

"You name it," Patch said. "Chemical, biological, bombs…maybe a missile or two."

"Wait when you say biological…" Dawdle gulped. "You saying there might be something **living** here?"

"Scared Dawdle?" Patch sneered.

"Now that you mention it…"Dawdle gulped.

"Quit yer whining!" MaCross snapped. "Keep your eyes open! There's got to be something here we can salvage!"

"Hey Boss! Boss! I found something!" A yellow bird alien with three arms cried out. "You gotta see this!"

"What is it?" MaCross asked as he and his crew trudged over to a large structure. He was nearly blinded by a flash. "What in the world…?"

In front of him was a huge red crystal about the size of a small car. "Scanner's can't penetrate the surface but it's definitely some kind of crystal."

"I've heard stories of the chemicals in this place making different kinds of rocks react to 'em and crystals growing…" Patch though aloud. "But I never heard of any **this **big!"

"That jewel must be worth a fortune!" Chugga gasped.

"And so is **that** one!" MaCross looked at a second jewel nearby. And then he saw a very, very large rock encrusted with jagged red and purple crystals. "Forget the weapons boys! We just hit the jackpot!"

The gang whooped a loud Ye-Haaa in celebration. They weren't aware that **something** was watching them nearby. Very close nearby.

A few hours later the Black Hole Gang's cruiser was flying in hyper space. "We should be near Prairie in a few minutes, Boss," Dawdle told MaCross.

"Good, we can contact our fence as well as test the crystals and see exactly how valuable they are," MaCross grinned as he looked at the two giant crystals in a box next to his chair.

RRRRRUMMMBBLLEEE!

"What the devil…?" MaCross snapped as the ship shook violently for a moment. "What's wrong with the ship?"

"Something's going on in the cargo bay," Chugga looked at the instruments.

"Chugga, you and Dawdle check it out," MaCross ordered.

Soon the two aliens were looking at the cargo bay. "This place gives me the creeps," Dawdle gulped. "You think something stowed away on this ship?"

"More like we just got hosed on our last ship upgrade," Chugga snorted. "When I get my claws on that mechanic…"

"RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR…."

"Did you say something Chugga?" Dawdle gulped.

"I thought that was you," Chugga gulped. A pair of fire red eyes glowed in the dark. "Oh wait. It's him. My mistake."

"RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR…."

"AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Both aliens screamed for their lives.

The ship rocked even more violently. "What is going on?" MaCross yelled. His two stooges ran back into the control room.

"There's something on this ship! A monster!" Dawdle screamed.

"Seems we picked up a stowaway," MaCross growled as he looked at the scanners. "What the…? How could something **that big** sneak onto my ship!"

"Uh boss," Chugga gasped. "You know that last really big rock with all the crystals on it we put on the ship?"

"Yeah?" MaCross raised an eyebrow.

"It wasn't a rock!" Chugga screamed. The ship shuddered violently again. "AND IT'S MAD!"

CRUNCH! CRUNCH!

"It's tearing the ship apart!" MaCross yelled. "We don't have any choice! We're going to have to separate the cargo hold from the rest of the ship!"

"But we're entering Prairie's orbit now!" Patch yelled. "That's dangerous!"

"It's even more dangerous if we don't do anything!" MaCross snapped as he pushed several buttons. "Initiating separation now!"

"AAAHH! SOMETHING'S WRONG! IT'S NOT WORKING!" Chugga screamed. "We're all gonna die!"

"No we're not," MaCross said.

"We're not?" Dawdle gulped.

"At least **I'm** not!" MaCross ran towards the nearest escape pod.

"WHAT?" His crew yelled.

"Gentlemen, it's a lovely ship, I think you should go down with it!" MaCross said as he got into the escape pod.

"MACROSS YOU LOUSY…" Patch yelled as MaCross escaped the ship.

"Well look at the bright side," Dawdle gulped. "At least we still have the gems." He pointed to the large box.

"Oh yeah there's a comfort!" Chugga shouted. "Maybe we can decorate them on our tombstones!"

"Hold on!" Patch worked at the controls. "I think I've got something! Work you blasted…" He hit the controls.

"Commencing separation," The voice toned.

"YES! We're free from that thing!" Patch laughed as the half of the ship that contained the creature fell to the planet below them. "We're free!"

"Uh not exactly Patch," Chugga pointed.

Patch saw a large Earth patrol ship right in front of them. "Oh crap…"

The Black Hole Gang's ship couldn't move out of the way in time and collided right into the Earth ship. But it wasn't the only wreckage that day.

The part of the ship that was separated crashed with a large boom inside a large valley. It made a crater several miles wide and destroyed trees and ground all around it.

Out of the wreckage rose a giant creature the size of a large house. It was the color of red sand with red crystals on it's body. It had four large legs and three toed claws as well as a large spiked tail. It's mouth was extremely wide and full of sharp teeth. It looked like a cross between an armadillo with a face of a bullfrog.

And it was angry.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"Galaxy Rangers we have a situation," Commander Walsh reported. "The Black Hole Gang has unleashed a monster on Prairie."

"**Another** one?" Doc asked. "Wasn't the Bronto Bear bad enough?"

"This time it was accidental," Walsh told him. "According to the members who begged to be brought into custody."

"Accidental? That's a first," Shane Gooseman scoffed.

"I'm afraid we are also partially responsible for this," Commander Walsh sighed. "We have identified the creature. It's a leftover from the Supertrooper Project."

"What?" Shane blinked. An image of a giant creature covered in crystals was shown.

"Years ago under orders from the Board of Leaders, Max Sawyer experimented with creating genetically engineered creatures as well as humans to fight," Dr. Nagata explained. "The result was the Maul."

"The Maul? Charming name," Doc groaned.

"The acronym was Mutated Animal Ultimate Lifeform," Dr. Nagata explained.

"I'm guessing it was a failure," Shane groaned. "But why wasn't it frozen in the Cryocrypt?"

"Well for starters it was too damn big," Walsh grunted. "It is almost more than half the size of a Brontobear. Second we engineered it to withstand extreme cold so it wouldn't work. Actually the creature is designed to withstand any extreme temperature and live in any environment as well as being impervious to laser fire. Eventually we abandoned the creature on an asteroid in the Wasteland."

"The military's personal dump of unwanted weapons and chemicals," Shane growled.

"The Black Hole Gang must have snuck in there looking for weapons," Zach realized. "And as usual found nothing but trouble."

"Yes, besides the Maul the only thing they found were some giant valuable crystals," Walsh brought up some pictures. "They must have grown as a result of chemical interaction. We managed to get custody of them as well."

"If I know MaCross he'll want to get those crystals back any way possible," Zach growled.

"I remember stories about the Maul when I was a kid," Shane thought back. "Mostly about how Kilbane kept boasting how he'd feed me to it. But I never saw the thing."

"Yes," Walsh coughed. "I'm afraid it's about to get worse. Not only is MaCross still loose but we've just gotten a report of Kilbane and a few other renegade Supertroopers in the area."

"Oh this just gets better and better," Shane growled.

"As you can imagine this is not only a very dangerous but an extremely sensitive mission," Walsh sighed.

"That is why Zozo and I have been ordered to accompany you by the council of the League of Planets," Waldo spoke as he and Zozo entered the room. "As well as Ambassador Brachi."

"Isn't he the one that looks like an overgrown broccoli sprout?" Shane asked. "And a personality to match?"

"That's the one," Zozo nodded.

"I fear a lot of my colleagues are still a bit mistrustful of Earth," Waldo sighed. "Especially due to it's past use of genetically engineered soldiers to fight. Some of them believe Earth is no better than the Queen of the Crown in that regard."

"I hate to say it but they have a point…" Shane growled, remembering his past.

"Where is the Maul now?" Niko asked.

"We've pinpointed it's location in River Run Valley," Walsh showed them a map on the computer. "Fortunately it's uninhabited but it's on the move towards Wilder Falls."

"Prairie's capital city," Zach said. "There are millions of people there."

"All waiting for the Maul to snack on," Doc groaned. "After first feasting on some Galaxy Ranger Appetizers."

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

But the Galaxy Rangers weren't the only ones headed for Prairie. In fact some of their competition was already there.

"This idea better work Kilbane," Brainchild folded his arms as he sat in a large spaceship transport. "I'm tired of cleaning up after your failed plots."

"I'm not the one who screwed up with the whole Batch 22 situation!" Kilbane growled as he piloted the ship.

"You didn't exactly help contain it either," Brainchild snapped.

"Knock it off!" Chimera strode onto the bridge with Gravestone. "No wonder Jackhammer didn't want to come on this mission!"

"Yeah," Gravestone had a small white chicken under his arm. "Your fighting is bothering Fred. Isn't that right Freddy?" He tickled the chicken under his beak as it clucked.

"He **still **has the **chicken?**" Brainchild gave her a look.

"It keeps him occupied," Chimera sighed. "And strangely enough it smells better than Gravestone!" **(See The Supertroopers Ride Again) **

"We're approaching Prairie," Kilbane informed them. "Now all we gotta do is find the Maul and make sure it does a lot of damage!"

"Then we hit up the League of Planets for a huge ransom or else we'll unleash the Maul on other worlds," Brainchild laughed.

"Uh wait a minute, something's wrong here," Gravestone scratched his head. "We don't have the Maul under our control."

"Not yet," Kilbane.

"We don't exactly need to advertise the fact that we don't have the creature under our control," Brainchild explained. "Just make sure it causes enough damage for people to believe it."

"But what about the Galaxy Rangers?" Chimera asked. "You know this is exactly the sort of thing Gooseman and his goody goody friends will stick their noses in."

"I hope so," Kilbane laughed. "I've been waiting a long time for some payback!"

"Fred says the way your plans go you might be waiting a lot longer," Gravestone remarked.

"Tell Fred that if he doesn't keep his big beak shut he'll be waiting for some extra hot sauce for me to pour on him!" Kilbane snapped.

"Just shut up and fly the ship," Brainchild groaned, already getting a headache.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Soon the Rangers were on their way to Prairie. This time however they were on a large starship cruiser. "Approaching Prairie," One of the pilots told them. "We'll be within the atmosphere in two minutes."

"Excellent," Commander Walsh nodded as he sat in the commander's seat.

"This is intolerable!" Senator Wheiner had come along as well. "Walsh you should have gotten rid of that menace years ago!"

"We did," Walsh gave him a look. "We deposited it in the Wasteland as per your instructions, **remember?"**

"Good call Senator," Shane said sarcastically.

"Watch it Gooseman," Wheiner growled. He glared at Waldo and Zozo who were also snickering nearby. "And why do we need more aliens here? This is an Earth matter! Aren't Ambassadors Waldo and Zozo enough?"

"Because those two are a bit too close to Earth for an objective report," Ambassador Brachi said as he approached. He was a tall green alien that did resemble a broccoli sprout with a white outfit on.

"Ambassador Brachi this is an internal affair," Senator Whiner snorted. "This creature was a leftover from a project terminated before we even entered the League of Planets! We can handle this on our own! We don't need to be babysat by some alien big shot who thinks he knows everything!"

"Senator Wheiner, Earth is only **one** of two hundred and seventy eight planets in the League," Brachi gave him a look. "And the League has seventy eight different species as members. You have only been part of the League for less than three years. I admit it has been an **interesting** three years…But none the less you are still considered a junior member."

"Junior member?" Wheiner shouted. "Listen broccoli brains Earth has saved your collective alien behinds more times than I can count!"

"Not exactly setting the bar high are we?" The Ambassador raised an eyebrow.

"Oh I **love** this mission more and more with each minute," Shane rolled his eyes.

"Shut up Gooseman!" Wheiner snapped.

"That's another thing I wanted to ask you about," The Ambassador raised an eyebrow. "Your involvement in the Supertrooper project and exactly how much input you had in the running of the program. Particularly this Maul creature as well as what happened the day the program failed."

"Oh look at the time!" Wheiner faked looking at his watch. "Uh I got to make a quick conference call!" He rushed off.

"You know don't you?" Shane raised an eyebrow.

"Ambassador Zozo informed me of your…Situation and the circumstances concerning your appointment a while ago," The Ambassador coughed. "Many members of the Council of Planets are not unaware of the Supertrooper Project and your plight. I fear that politics cannot allow me to do much more than annoy the man."

"No biggie," Shane shrugged. "I like being a Galaxy Ranger. Most of the time."

"I hope this is one of those times," Zozo pointed to the screen. "Look!"

Down below them the Maul was stomping through the city screaming it's lungs out. "Oh great! What is it about this city that giant monsters are drawn to it?" Doc asked. "My Mama didn't raise her little ranger to be an animal control officer!"

CRASH!

"There goes another wall," Doc quipped.

"Attention citizens of Prairie!" A familiar weasel like voice cried out from an intercom on a starship flying by. "Bow down in fear! We the Supertroopers are in control! If you do not meet our demands, the Maul will destroy your city!"

"Oh great!" Walsh grumbled. "This is **all** we need!"

On the ground several police officers tried firing on the large creature but their lasers had no effect. "It just keeps on going! All we're doing is making it mad!" One police officer shouted.

"Resistance is useless! Useless I tell you!" Brainchild shouted. "Maul! Destroy the city! HA HA HA HA!"

However suddenly the creature stopped in it's tracks and sniffed the air. Then it rolled itself into a ball and started to roll back the way it came. Out of the city.

"It's turning tail!" One policeman shouted. "What do we do?"

"Let it go!" His superior officer shouted.

"Hey! No wait! Where are you **going?**" Brainchild screamed. "Not that way! The **other way!** Where are you going?"

"It's leaving the city," Zach noticed. "And it's in a hurry! I wonder why?"

"I think it just can't stand the sound of Brainchild's screeching," Shane grinned.

"BAD MAUL! BAD MAUL!" Brainchild screamed. "COME BACK HERE AND DESTROY THE CITY!"

"So much for control," Shane said sarcastically. "Those idiots can't even take care of a toy puppy on a leash!"

"I told you we should have come up with a plan to control that beast!" Chimera shouted on the intercom. "Way to go Brainy!"

"It's not my fault!" Brainchild snapped. "I told you as long as people think that we control it and we…Kilbane is the comm link still **on?"**

"Uh…" Kilbane coughed.

"YOU DIDN'T SHUT IT OFF?" Brainchild shouted.

"YOU DIDN'T TELL ME TO SHUT IT OFF!" Kilbane snapped.

"Great! So much for our plan to make people think we're responsible for the Maul!" Chimera groaned. "There goes our ransom! Thanks a lot Bonehead!"

"Fred's not happy with you Kilbane," Gravestone was heard.

"SHUT UP!" Kilbane shouted.

"YOU SHUT UP!" Chimera shouted back. "AND TURN OFF THAT DAMN MIKE!"

"MAKE ME!" Kilbane shouted.

"O-kay," Shane winced. "I think I'd better go after them in my interceptor before those idiots pollute the airwaves some more." He took off.

Soon Shane was following the Supertroopers who were following the Maul in his interceptor. "Okay so where **are** they going?" Shane asked aloud.

As in answer to his question he saw the Maul shoot out some kind of blast fire from its mouth at another spaceship in the nearby area. "Ask a stupid question…" He grumbled. "Now why is it…?"

"Goose! Come in!" Niko's voice was heard. "We just learned that MaCross has stolen back the crystals from the nearby authorities. He's piloting that other ship!"

"Oh is **that** all?" Shane rolled his eyes. A blast of laser fire nearly hit his ship. "WHOA!"

The Maul was shooting blasts from its mouth wildly. "The power levels that thing is emitting are off the charts!"

The Maul's blasts not only hit MaCross's ship, it also managed to hit the Supertrooper's and Shane's ships as well. "I'm hit!" Shane shouted.

Everything blurred into a spinning burst of speed. Before Shane knew it he had crashed his ship in what seemed to be a large abandoned quarry. "I swear if I keep crashing these things BETA is going to take them out of my paycheck," Shane grumbled as he got out of his ship. "But where did the Maul go? It's not like a thing that big can just disappear."

"And what happened to MaCross and the Supertroopers?" Shane thought aloud. "This could get bad."

"Goose! Come in, status report!" Zach's voice called out over the intercom. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine Captain," Shane reported. "I'm gonna do some scouting around."

"Just be careful," Zach warned.

"Yeah if you aren't you'll end up as a Galaxy Ranger Burger for the Maul," Doc added.

"The Goose is nobody's snack," Shane growled. "Gooseman out!"

Shane carefully began to scout out the territory. The quarry was huge but it seemed as if it had been abandoned recently. That was a relief that he didn't have to worry about innocent bystanders.

Just some renegade Supertroopers, MaCross and a very large angry monster.

The answer to where the Maul was revealed very quickly. Shane could hear the creatures screams and roars nearby. He carefully went to investigate the source of the roars. Somehow the creature had gotten trapped in a giant pit that was even larger than it was. It was grumbling around, roaring and slashing at the dirt walls surrounding it.

"Okay that's one problem down," Shane grumbled. Suddenly he sensed he was being watched. He saw a shadow fall in front of him and he barely moved out of the way to avoid Chimera's kick.

"Well, well if it isn't the Little Runt That Could," Chimera made an evil sneer. "Long time no see."

"I wish it was even **longer**," Shane snapped as he dodged another kick easily. "You're a little slow Chimera. Have you been taking fighting lessons from Kilbane?"

"Ha ha," She snarled. "You know I could have just blasted you away but I think it will be more fun tearing you apart with my bare hands!"

"Gotta catch me first," Shane smirked as he blocked her next attack. "Come on Chimera, you can do better than that. Even **Brainchild** can do better than that."

"Watch it Runt!" Brainchild emerged with the other Supertroopers and Fred the Chicken perched on Gravestone's shoulder.

"Looks like I win our little bet Kilbane," Chimera grinned. "I told you I'd get the Goose first!"

"You can't catch a cold much less…" Shane did a double take when he saw Gravestone. "What's with the **chicken?**"

"Don't ask," Brainchild groaned.

"You'll be clucking like a chicken yourself once I use my hypnotic powers on you!" Chimera used her powers to attack Shane. "Sleep!"

"No thanks," Shane gave her a look. "I'm not tired."

"I said go to sleep!" Chimera used her powers to their full effect but to her shock Shane was not affected.

"Maybe if you did nothing but talk it **would** put me to sleep," Shane mocked.

"Oh come on! Go to sleep will you?" Chimera stomped her foot. "My powers don't work on him!"

"Who needs your stupid powers anyway?" Kilbane charged at Shane. "I can handle the Runt myself! Or better yet, I can get the Maul to have fun with him!"

"Kilbane you idiot! Don't do it!" Brainchild shouted. Too late, Kilbane had managed to shove Shane into the pit. Shane fell down and barely was able to land using his powers to lengthen his skin around his sides like a flying squirrel to slow down his fall.

"What? You want Gooseman **alive** or something?" Kilbane snapped.

"No you fool! Because you tried this stupid plan the **last time** and it backfired!" Brainchild shrieked.

"Last time?" Shane blinked. "What do you mean, the **last time?"** Suddenly the huge shadow of the Maul loomed over him.

FLASH!

_"Put me down! Put me down!" Little three year old Shane tried to escape the grasp of Young Kilbane as he carried him along the corridors with a few other young Supertrooper boys following. _

_"Oh I'll put you down all right," Young Kilbane laughed as he made his way to a large chute. "There it is! This is where they feed the Maul!" _

_"Yeah and now we're gonna feed him the Runt!" Young Jackhammer laughed. _

_"Time to get rid of this little pipsqueak once and for all!" Young Gravestone laughed. _

_"Kilbane, this isn't gonna be like the time you tried to __**mail**__ him away is it?" Young Brainchild groaned._

_"Hey! It would have worked if I knew an actual address instead of writing 'Anywhere But Wolf Den' on the box!" Young Kilbane snapped. "In ya go Runt! Say Hi to the Maul for me! HA!" _

_He viciously shoved Little Shane through the vent. "Whoa!" Little Shane flew down the chute and landed in the partially lit room on his feet. Even as a small child the young Supertrooper was surprisingly agile. _

_"RRRRRRRRR…" _

_Little Shane looked up at the giant creature with big innocent eyes. The Maul loomed over him. _

_"Oh I can't wait until it starts chomping on it's bones!" Young Kilbane laughed as he listened in. Suddenly a trumpet blast was heard. "Oh man! What now?"_

_"They're calling roll! We have to get in formation!" Young Brainchild shouted as he started to run away. "I heard some big shot senator is gonna inspect us today!"_

_"Come on Kilbane move it! You don't want Walsh or Max to put you in the brig again!" Young Jackhammer shouted as he ran._

_"But I wanna hear the Maul eat Gooseman!" Young Kilbane whined. "Oh rats!" He reluctantly ran after the others._

_Soon the young Supertroopers were standing at attention in front of Walsh, Dr. Nagata, Max Sawyer and Senator Wheiner. "They look healthy enough," The senator snorted. "Where's this new one I keep hearing about? The one that's supposed to be the latest model?"_

_"Uh I don't see him," Dr. Nagata coughed. "That's odd, he's never been late before." _

_"He's right on time for dinner," Young Gravestone chuckled under his breath. _

_However Young Darkstar was standing right next to him. "What do you mean by __**that?**__" She hissed._

_"Nothing…" Young Gravestone whistled._

_"Spill it Gravestone or I'll clobber you," Young Chimera said. She was standing on his other side. Young Gravestone looked a bit frightened. _

_"What kind of operation are you running Walsh?" Wheiner snapped. _

_"Senator I'm sure he's around here somewhere," Max protested. "Maybe he got lost? He's only three years old and hasn't been in the program very long."_

_"I don't care how old and untrained he is," Wheiner growled. "There better be a good reason why that little freak isn't here!" _

_"KILBANE FED SHANE TO THE MAUL?" Young Darkstar's voice rose over the rest._

_"WHAT?" Both Max and Walsh shouted. _

_"Heh heh…Funny story," Young Kilbane gulped, trying very unsuccessfully to look innocent. _

_"Is that a good enough reason for you, Wheiner?" Dr. Nagata snapped. _

_"Wait, isn't the Maul the latest project you've been working on?" Wheiner realized._

_"Oh no! Shane will be torn to pieces! He won't stand a chance!" Max realized. He ran off to save his youngest creation. _

_"I'll deal with __**you**__ later!" Walsh hissed at Kilbane before he ran off. _

_"Somebody's gonna __**get it!"**__ Young Darkstar taunted as she ran off after the adults. _

_"Who cares as long as the Runt got __**his!"**__ Young Kilbane shouted. He ran off after the others. _

_"This I gotta see!" Young Brainchild agreed and several other young Supertroopers ran off to witness the carnage. _

_Walsh was directing several guards at the door of the Maul's holding pen. "Be prepared for anything!" _

_"Shane hold on! We're coming!" Max called out as the door opened. "Hold…on?"_

_"Okay I admit I was not prepared for __**that**__," One guard blinked. _

_"WHAT IN THE WORLD…?" Commander Walsh shouted. _

_There before them was Shane peacefully sleeping in the arms of the Maul. The Maul was gently cooing over the little Supertrooper and rocking him to sleep in it's giant arms. "What the devil is that thing __**doing?**__" Wheiner's jaw dropped._

_"I think it's singing him a lullaby," Max blinked. _

_"Oh is that all…__**A LULLABY!"**__ Wheiner screamed. "Walsh what kind of rampaging monster sings lullabies?" _

_"You have got to be __**kidding me?"**__ Young Kilbane screamed when he saw what happened. _

_"Aw nuts he's not even maimed," Young Gravestone snapped his fingers. _

_"I should have known," Young Jackhammer groaned. "The Runt is just too damn lucky!"_

_"Told you that plan wouldn't work," Young Brainchild said smugly. _

_"Shut up Frog Face!" Young Kilbane sneered. _

_"Walsh in case you haven't figured it out, this has __**not **__been a good inspection!" Wheiner snapped. "Misplaced troopers, troopers out of control, a living weapon that sings __**lullabies!"**_

_"Kilbane…" Walsh hissed at him. _

_"But he's…" Young Kilbane tried to point the blame on Shane. "I really __**hate**__ that Runt!" _

FLASH!

"Oh yeah," Kilbane blinked as the Maul was now happily cradling Shane in its arms. "Now I remember…"

"How could you forget?" Chimera asked. "You were in the brig for over a month!"

"It was kind of quiet wasn't it?" Brainchild remembered.

"Rarrr…" The Maul gently gave Shane a happy lick.

"I remember now…" Shane looked at the Maul. "I can't believe I forgot about you."

"That's because Walsh ordered you to have your memories altered by hypnotic suggestion!" Brainchild snapped. "They were worried you gotten too attached to that thing!"

"Oh," Shane frowned. "I gotta have a little talk with the Commander when I get back."

"You know Chimera that's probably why Gooseman isn't as susceptible to your hypnotic powers," Brainchild thought aloud. "I mean when he was a kid they wiped his brain so many times, especially after…"

"What do you mean?" Shane snapped. "After **what?**"

"Uh nothing…" Brainchild gulped. "Never mind."

"Grrrrrr…" The Maul hissed at the Supertroopers.

"Uh I don't think it likes us very much," Brainchild gulped.

"Why? Cause we tried to hurt the Runt? Big deal!" Kilbane snorted and threw a rock at the Maul. "We're up here! They're down there! What's it gonna do?"

Once the rock hit the Maul on it's snout it made a loud roar. To Shane's surprise a large pouch opened up on it's stomach and she gently placed Shane inside it. Then the creature crouched down on its legs and leapt up surprisingly high. Its claws grew bigger and sharper and managed to cling onto the rocky ledge. It was more than halfway up the pit in only a few seconds flat.

"YOU JUST HAD TO TICK IT OFF DIDN'T YOU KILBANE?" Brainchild screamed. "RUN!"

"DON'T YELL AT ME BRAINCHILD! THIS WAS YOUR STUPID IDEA!" Kilbane shouted back as the Supertroopers ran off.

"NO MY PLAN WAS TO GET IT TO ATTACK THE CITY! NOT ATTACK US YOU FOOL!" Brainchild shouted.

"FRED THE CHICKEN IS BETTER AT COMING UP WITH PLANS THAN THE TWO OF YOU!" Chimera shouted.

"Where's Fred?" Gravestone blinked and looked around. "Freddy…? Oh there he is. Right in front of the Maul."

"Buckawww?" Fred the chicken looked up at the Maul.

CHOMP!

"And there **goes** Fred," Brainchild remarked. "Right down the Maul's throat."

"Nuts," Kilbane grunted. "I wanted to eat him!"

"FREDDY!" Gravestone screamed. "THE MAUL ATE FREDDY!"

"IT'S GONNA EAT **US** NEXT IF WE DON'T GET OUT OF HERE!" Brainchild snapped.

"OH FREDDY! FREDDY!" Gravestone screamed as they ran off.

"You used to eat seagulls all the time!" Kilbane snapped. "What's one stupid chicken?"

"Seagulls taste better," Gravestone told him. "Especially their feathers."

"You have a point," Kilbane admitted.

"HERE'S ANOTHER POINT! IF WE DON'T KEEP MOVING WE'RE NEXT!" Brainchild screamed.

Not far away Zach and the other rangers were tending to the other part of the mission. "Well this was easy," Zach picked up the unconscious MaCross with his bionic arm and tossed him aside.

"I can't believe this idiot was greedy enough to try and move these crystals by himself," Doc looked at the crystals where they lay on the ground. They had been tossed out of the spaceship when it crashed. "Oh wait, yes I can."

"There's something about these crystals…" Niko thought then activated her badge. She touched one of the crystals and gasped. "Guys you're not going to believe it! These crystals are…"

"I told you this was not necessary for you to be here, Whiner!" Commander Walsh snapped as he walked up to the Rangers.

"If **they** get to come, so do I!" Whiner pointed at Waldo, Zozo and Brachi. "They're not the only ones who want a full report on the situation!"

"Oh brother…" Dr. Nagata had arrived as well. "Captain Foxx I assume you have things under control?"

"Uh yes and no," Zach pointed behind them.

They turned around and saw the Supertroopers running for their lives in a blind panic. "RUN AWAY! RUN AWAY!" Kilbane screamed. "RUN FAR AWAY!"

"HELP! RUN! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES! AAAAAH!" Brainchild screamed. "I DON'T WANNA DIE! I DON'T WANNA DIE!"

"IT ATE MY CHICKEN! I WANT MY CHICKEN! WAAAAHHHHHH!" Gravestone screamed.

"Just shut up and **run** Dodo brain!" Chimera screamed.

Everyone just stood there and stared as the Supertroopers escaped. "Well…That's something you don't expect to see every day," Doc blinked.

"**Those** are the evil Supertroopers I keep hearing about?" Ambassador Brachi gave Wheiner a look. "The **menace** that you Earthers fear?"

"Uh, uh they're a lot more dangerous than they look! Or sound…" Wheiner gulped. "Or act…"

"Yeah…**Right!"** The Ambassador glared at him.

"Earth's really looking kind of dumb on this one," Doc admitted.

"No, just your government," Zozo said.

"Oh well in **that** case…" Doc shrugged. Wheiner gave Doc a dirty look.

"Uh guys we have a bigger problem," Niko pointed to the Maul that was heading their way.

"Oh God…" Whiner's knees started to knock. He was clearly thinking that following the aliens was not such a good idea. "Walsh do something! Kill it! Kill it!"

"How?" Walsh snapped. "The thing's impervious to blaster fire, remember?"

"WELL WHY IS IT IMPERVIOUS TO BLASTER FIRE? WHAT KIND OF STUPID IDEA WAS THAT?" Wheiner screamed.

"IT WAS **YOUR** IDEA YOU MORON!" Walsh shouted. "YOU AND THAT BLASTED BOARD ORDERED US TO CREATE SOMETHING THAT COULDN'T BE HURT BY LASERS AND OTHER CONVENTIONAL WEAPONS!"

"WELL THEN USE SOME **UNCONVENTIONAL** WEAPONS!" Wheiner screamed like a little girl. "CAPTAIN FOXX USE THAT THUNDERBOLT OF YOURS TO BLAST IT! BLOW IT UP! BLOW IT UP!"

"That may not be necessary, Senator," Zach pointed again.

"WHAT?" Wheiner nearly had a heart attack when he saw what Zach was pointing to. "I DON'T BELIEVE THIS!"

"Hey guys!" Shane waved from the pouch. "Turns out the Maul is a friend of mine."

"Gooseman you know the strangest people," Doc blinked. "Get down from there you nut!"

"Uh I don't think she wants to let me go," Shane looked upwards at the Maul.

"SHE?" Doc did a double take.

"Yeah it's a she," Shane rolled his eyes as the Maul fussed with his hair. "And she's kind of got a maternal streak when it comes to me."

"You remember don't you?" Commander Walsh winced.

"Yeah you and I are gonna have a little **talk** about altering my memories a little later, **Commander**," Shane growled.

"Uh, it was Nagata's idea!" Walsh said quickly.

"WHAT? NO IT WASN'T!" Nagata yelled through his computer voice.

"You're already dead! What **else **can he do to you?" Walsh hissed out of the corner of his mouth.

"I don't want to find out," Nagata told him.

"Walsh do something!" Wheiner screamed. "That defective freak is going to eat us!"

"She's **not** going to eat you," Shane said. "She kind of ate already. Besides you taste terrible. All she wants is those crystals there."

"They're not crystals," Niko said. "They're her eggs."

"EGGS!" Everyone shouted.

"Okay…This is not what I expected…" Zach blinked.

"Walsh we have to destroy those useless monstrosities!" Wheiner shouted. "All they're good for is destroying things and singing lullabies to Supertroopers!"

"Lullabies?" Doc blinked at Shane.

"Don't ask," Shane groaned as the Maul gently put him down. The Maul kept fussing and petting him. "I'm fine! No my hair is just fine too…"

"May I remind you Senator that the charter of the League of Planets stresses on **preserving life**," Waldo said with full authority. "Especially if it is sentient!"

"This creature was made by Earth! It's an Earth military secret! You have no authority over it!" Wheiner snapped.

"Paragraph 12 of Subsection C in Article 19 of the charter clearly gives the League authority over this matter," Waldo bristled. "It states and I quote: Any sentient creature created specifically for the art of warfare and **willfully abandoned** by the government of the planet that created it shall have it's fate determined by the Council of the League of Planets, excluding the planet that abandoned it!"

"That thing is a **menace!** It has to be destroyed!" Wheiner shrieked.

"You said the Maul was a failure because it was too gentle," Zozo pointed out. "It can't be both! Which is it?"

"Looks like our hands are tied on this one Wheiner," Walsh made a sly grin. "BETA is part of the League of Planets and we must comply with it's rules."

Just then the eggs started to crack. "Oh no…" Wheiner moaned as two tiny Mauls emerged from them. "This is **not** happening!"

"Looks like you got some new little sisters my Gooseman," Doc chuckled. One of the babies yelped and happily tackled Doc, licking his face. "HEY!"

"Every time I think I've gotten over that stupid Supertrooper Project it comes back to bite me in the AAAHHHHH!" Whiner yelped as one of the babies nipped at his pants.

"It doesn't even have any teeth you big baby," Shane looked at him.

"There's a nature preserve on Irwin Five that would be perfect for them," Zozo said as Mama Maul nuzzled it's babies.

"Is there a bar there as well?" Wheiner groaned as he staggered away. "Oh wait there's one on the ship!"

"Well all's well that ends well," Zach grinned.

"By the way Commander are there any **other** altered memories I should know about?" Shane snapped at Walsh.

"Uh…" Walsh hesitated.

"There was that time Kilbane tried a little experiment to see if you could fly," Dr. Nagata admitted.

"I remember **that!**" Shane snapped.

"You only remember the **first time**," Walsh coughed. "It's the second and third times that might be kind of fuzzy…And the fourth and fifth…"

"How many times did he try it?" Shane blinked.

"Twenty or thirty…" Walsh admitted. "Oh and one other thing…There's kind of a reason why you don't like Jell-O. Kilbane had something to do with that too."

"Maybe I'm better off not knowing…" Shane winced.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"Well that was only the third or fourth most humiliating caper of my entire life," Brainchild groaned as he flew back. "And surprise, surprise the reason for the big fat failure was **you** Kilbane! **Again!"**

"Don't blame me for your failures!" Kilbane snapped.

"Oh really?" Brainchild snapped. "**Who **left the intercom on? **Who** shoved Gooseman into the pit and reunited him with the Maul! And **who **was **stupid** enough to throw rocks at the Maul and get it to chase after **us?**"

"We didn't get any ransom!" Chimera snapped. "We lost some of our reputation as being the strongest creatures in the universe! We barely got out with our lives…"

"I LOST FRED! WAAAAAHHHHH!" Gravestone bawled.

"AND ON TOP OF IT ALL I HAVE TO DEAL WITH **THIS!**" Chimera pointed to Gravestone. "THANKS A LOT RYKER!"

"All I have left of my little buddy is this egg he laid," Gravestone took out an egg from his pocket. Suddenly it began to hatch. "OH! Look!"

"Just what we need, another stupid surprise…" Brainchild groaned as the egg hatched into a chick.

"Look! Look!" Gravestone held out the chick. "Isn't he cute! I will call him Fred Junior! And he will be my friend and peck my enemies' eyes out!"

"Oh…Joy," Chimera's eye began to twitch. "Just what we need, an attack chicken."

"More like a snack attack chicken," Kilbane reached out to grab it. "I could use a bite to eat!"

"HANDS OFF MY CHICKEN!" Gravestone snapped as he yanked the baby bird out of the way. "Here! Go to Mommy!" He handed it to Chimera before he pounced on Kilbane.

"Ever get the feeling that somebody's thinks up complications in our lives just to torture us?" Chimera groaned as the two Supertroopers duked it out.

"All the time," Brainchild sighed.


End file.
